I discovered a great interview with Patrick Page ( http://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.cfm?colid=23607 ) that basically centers on his work on the Grinch musical, but he also talks about his roles as Lumiere and Scar. If you choose to view this video, you'll hear him say something about Scar that I thought was very interesting. In the interview, Page says that he considers Scar to be not only smarter than Mufasa, but that Scar has a better sense of humor. Do you think that these are just his opinions or that to make Scar wittier and smarter were conscious decisions of the librettists of the TLK stage show?

_________________Brian aka Apples2for10

"...Apples is probably the one who's posted the most relevant musical stuff long term in the past few months."- UniquePerspective

Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:37 pm

Luc

Broadway Legend / MdN Veteran

Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2005 3:54 pmPosts: 3292

I think Scar's mean.

Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:03 pm

stlgurl702

Supporting Player

Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2006 9:29 amPosts: 172Location: An island where the poorest of peasants labor and the wealthiest of Grand Homme Play.
Current Obsession: Songs for a New World
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musikal_geek you totally just made my day!

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Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:39 am

Fantine

Broadway Legend / MdN Veteran

Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2003 2:56 pmPosts: 2321

Re: Character Discussion: Scar

Apples2for10 wrote:

In the interview, Page says that he considers Scar to be not only smarter than Mufasa, but that Scar has a better sense of humor. Do you think that these are just his opinions or that to make Scar wittier and smarter were conscious decisions of the librettists of the TLK stage show?

I don't see how he's made wittier and smarter in the musical. In the film it's already very obvious that Scar is the wittier one of the two brothers. And, though this may be personal, I do think that he is funnier. Wicked, but funnier.

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Mon Dec 24, 2007 3:27 am

Flamy

Young Hoofer

Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:58 pmPosts: 35Location: Moscow

At times I feel sorry for Scar. I think he was very, very unhappy.

Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:20 pm

navada

Supporting Player

Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:31 amPosts: 108Location: Australia

Re: Character Discussion: Scar

Apples2for10 wrote:

I discovered a great interview with Patrick Page ( http://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.cfm?colid=23607 ) that basically centers on his work on the Grinch musical, but he also talks about his roles as Lumiere and Scar. If you choose to view this video, you'll hear him say something about Scar that I thought was very interesting. In the interview, Page says that he considers Scar to be not only smarter than Mufasa, but that Scar has a better sense of humor. Do you think that these are just his opinions or that to make Scar wittier and smarter were conscious decisions of the librettists of the TLK stage show?

I think Page may have a point. Unfortunately, however, "wittier and smarter" does not always equal happier or wiser, even though it seems natural that it should.

In Scar's case, his wit and intellect can't conceal or compensate for his character flaws. Rather than admiring his brother for his physical strength and accurate moral compass, Scar chooses instead to resent him and use his own gifts inappropriately. While Scar's humour is more evident in the show than Mufasa's (perhaps due more to their respective roles within the community than anything else), it's also comparatively dark and tends to thrive on the pain and suffering of others rather than spiringing from a place of genuine joy or happiness in the way humour really should. Likewise, Scar uses his intellect for nefarious purposes when he could do great things for his community instead if he chose.

While I admire the character of Mufasa, I can see why the librettists have created Scar the way they have. He's not your average two-dimensional villain - he's more complex and interesting than that.

As Dumbledore said to Harry Potter. "It's not your abilities that determine who you truly are - it is your choices."

I think Scar is a wickedly funny and witty character. Definitely one of the more complex Disney villains--he does more than "I envy her because she's beautiful" or "I hate them because I'm jealous" but Scar's anger actually stems from his childhood (or cubhood, if you will). It's a hayday for psychology geeks!

I'm not going to lie, Scar has always been, hands down, my favorite Disney character of all time. Don't ask me why - there's just something about him that I just connected with. I've always felt very sorry for him, and I think he got the short stick in a lot of things.

I have always considered him the smarter of the two brothers. Mufasa has the compassion, and the love for his kingdom, but Scar just has the sadistic passion for getting what he wants. I've never also been convinced that Scar was all . . . there. It's one of those "he's so brilliant he's nucking futs" type things

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Sat May 02, 2009 8:32 am

The Duchess of Mint

Broadway Legend

Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2002 11:23 pmPosts: 994

Mufasa isn't as kind as he seems to be...

Dear "Lion King" Fans,

I have now seen both the movie AND the stage versions of "The Lion King", and I have to say that even though Uncle Scar doesn't have good intentions, Mufasa isn't exactly the nicest guy!

He tends to treat his younger brother as someone who must, regrettably, be put up with, rather than someone who needs serious help. He even laughs when Zazu makes his "throw rug" joke, and he seems to show quite a temper when he confronts his brother about his absence from Simba's ceremony.

He also encourages his son to frighten the wits out of his Majordomo, Zazu; I don't think that that's fair, considering how much Zazu goes through for him! I also don't think that it's fair that Mufasa convinces Zazu (onstage) that Sarabi has said that he should be fired! Mufasa gleans pleasure from watching Zazu behave masochistically towards himself!

So, even though Simba's uncle is the bad guy, I don't know what Mufasa would be, considering how sadistic he seems to be...

Scar is by far the best Disney villain ever!
I really can't stand the cackling stereotypical portrayals of pure evil and I think that Scar is so much deeper than all that.
As an actor I love playing good, meaty villains. They're so much more challenging and enjoyable than the heroes.
Scar has all the elements of a great villain; quiet, calculating malice and a twisted sense of humour. The audience doesn't hate him, so much as what he does - which is really more the case in life. Very few people can truly be considered to be wholly evil.

Dutchess of Mint, I think you have misread Mufasa completely. The examples you use, out of context, appear to support your claim, however IN CONTEXT you can see that they're all done in good-natured jest. However, if what you're trying to say is that there's the potential for him to be played more maliciously, then I'd be inclined to agree.

I discovered a great interview with Patrick Page that basically centers on his work on the Grinch musical, but he also talks about his roles as Lumiere and Scar.... Page says that he considers Scar to be not only smarter than Mufasa, but that Scar has a better sense of humor. Do you think that these are just his opinions or that to make Scar wittier and smarter were conscious decisions of the librettists of the The Lion King stage show?

I think that it's pretty obvious that it was a conscious effort on the parts of the writers and animators of the film to differentiate between the characters in this way. The librettists were really building on what was already there and the principle is neither unique to the the stage show nor to The Lion King in any of its forms, as indicated by Page in the video, where he says:

Patrick Page wrote:

And then I did Lion King, and Lion King you don't see any of the heaviness in the costume - it's all underneath, because the mechanical mask that sits above Scar's head is run by motors which are quite large actually and are on the hips and those add about 30 pounds to the costume and then there's a thing that goes down your arm and a switch that operates the thing on the inside. So I loved the mask and the things I was able to do with it, but it was a very, very heavy costume and again I did that show for about 5 years, also at the New Amsterdam, at the Minskoff and on tour. So that was a lot of heavy costumes.

....

I do like playing villains. I like playing other parts too. The great thing about a villain is that they're usually the smartest person in the show and they are usually the funniest. So that of course is true of Scar. You know, Scar is, I think, in many ways... smarter than Mufasa. Mufasa is much more virtuous, kinder, more loyal - all those great qualities you need in a leader, but Scar has an intelligence than just no one else in the play has - and a sense of humour. Mufasa, bless his heart, he doesn't have a funny bone in his body. He doesn't have one laugh line in the show. So... it's that sense of irony that makes villains so rewarding to play as opposed to heroes. Heroes very rarely have any sense of the ironic.

Of course, in The Lion King there is a complexity at play which is grounded in the the Shakespearean influences on both the film and the stage show, which makes itself clear in the conception of the character of Scar. While the influence of Hamlet on the film is clear, Scar is like a kind of Richard III and this certainly adds something unique to him within the general context of Disney villains (although he is not my favourite Disney villain overall).